1921 Chicago Staleys season
Encyclopedia
The 1921
Chicago Staleys season was their second regular season
completed in the young American Professional Football Association. The club posted a 9-1-1 record under head coach/player George Halas
earning them a first place finish in the team standings and their first league championship. The beginning of the season saw A.E. Staley turn over the team to Halas and Dutch Sternaman, who moved the team to Chicago, Illinois. The team name was changed from the Decatur Staleys to the Chicago Staleys due to a contract between Staley and Halas. The Staleys were quite dominant, but all of Chicago's games were played at home (including one game in Decatur). Two games were against the Buffalo All-Americans; the first, played on Thanksgiving
, was won by Buffalo 7-6, giving the Staleys their only loss of the season.
Ed "Dutch" Sternaman
and George Halas
starred again, with newcomer Gaylord Stinchcomb
also contributing. Sternaman scored 32 points, most by kicking, and threw one TD pass. Halas had 3 TD receptions while Stinchcomb led the team with 4 touchdown runs.
not to be counted in the standings; had it not, Buffalo would have had an undefeated season and won the title. (Buffalo had played, and defeated, the Akron Pros
just one day prior.) Chicago defeated Buffalo in the rematch by a score of 10-7. Halas rebutted that the second game was played on December 4th (well before teams typically stopped playing games in those days), and the Staleys played two more games against top opponents, the Canton Bulldogs
and Chicago Cardinals after the second Buffalo game (though, at the time of the Buffalo-Chicago matchup, Chicago had played three fewer games than Buffalo).
The league counted the All-Americans game in the standings, against Buffalo's wishes, resulting in Buffalo (9-1-2) and Chicago (9-1-1) being tied atop the standings. The league then implemented the first ever tiebreaker: a rule, now considered archaic and removed from league rulebooks, that states that if two teams play multiple times in a season, the last game between the two teams carries more weight. Thus, the Chicago victory actually counted more in the standings, giving Chicago the championship. Buffalo sports fans have been known to refer to this, justly or unjustly, as the "Staley Swindle
."
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972
1921 NFL season
The 1921 APFA season was the 2nd regular season of the National Football League, which was then called the American Professional Football Association....
Chicago Staleys season was their second regular season
Regular season (NFL)
The National Football League regular season begins the weekend after Labor Day. Each team plays 16 games during a 17-week period. Traditionally, the majority of each week's games are played on Sunday afternoon, with weekly games on Sunday night and Monday night, and occasional games on Thursday...
completed in the young American Professional Football Association. The club posted a 9-1-1 record under head coach/player George Halas
George Halas
George Stanley Halas, Sr. , nicknamed "Papa Bear" and "Mr. Everything", was a player, coach, owner and pioneer in professional American football. He was the iconic longtime leader of the NFL's Chicago Bears...
earning them a first place finish in the team standings and their first league championship. The beginning of the season saw A.E. Staley turn over the team to Halas and Dutch Sternaman, who moved the team to Chicago, Illinois. The team name was changed from the Decatur Staleys to the Chicago Staleys due to a contract between Staley and Halas. The Staleys were quite dominant, but all of Chicago's games were played at home (including one game in Decatur). Two games were against the Buffalo All-Americans; the first, played on Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving Classic
The National Football League's Thanksgiving Classic is a series of games played during the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States. It has been a regular occurrence since the league's inception in 1920. Since 2006, three games are played every Thanksgiving...
, was won by Buffalo 7-6, giving the Staleys their only loss of the season.
Ed "Dutch" Sternaman
Edward Sternaman
Edward Sternaman , better known as Dutch, was an American player, coach, and owner in professional football for the NFL's Chicago Bears....
and George Halas
George Halas
George Stanley Halas, Sr. , nicknamed "Papa Bear" and "Mr. Everything", was a player, coach, owner and pioneer in professional American football. He was the iconic longtime leader of the NFL's Chicago Bears...
starred again, with newcomer Gaylord Stinchcomb
Gaylord Stinchcomb
Gaylord Roscoe "Pete" Stinchcomb was an American football player. He played quarterback and halfback at Ohio State University where he was selected as an All-American in 1920. He later played professional football for the Chicago Bears , Columbus Tigers , Cleveland Indians , and Louisville...
also contributing. Sternaman scored 32 points, most by kicking, and threw one TD pass. Halas had 3 TD receptions while Stinchcomb led the team with 4 touchdown runs.
De facto championship game
The All-Americans agreed to rematch the Staleys on December 4 on the condition that the game would be considered a "post-season" exhibition gameExhibition game
An exhibition game is a sporting event in which there is no competitive value of any significant kind to any competitor regardless of the outcome of the competition...
not to be counted in the standings; had it not, Buffalo would have had an undefeated season and won the title. (Buffalo had played, and defeated, the Akron Pros
Akron Pros
The Akron Pros were a professional football team located played in Akron, Ohio from 1908–1926. The team originated in 1908 as a semi-pro team named the Akron Indians, however name was changed to the Pros in 1920 as the team set out to become a charter member of the American Professional...
just one day prior.) Chicago defeated Buffalo in the rematch by a score of 10-7. Halas rebutted that the second game was played on December 4th (well before teams typically stopped playing games in those days), and the Staleys played two more games against top opponents, the Canton Bulldogs
Canton Bulldogs
The Canton Bulldogs were a professional American football team, based in Canton, Ohio. They played in the Ohio League from 1903 to 1906 and 1911 to 1919, and its successor, the National Football League, from 1920 to 1923 and again from 1925 to 1926. The Bulldogs would go on to win the 1917, 1918...
and Chicago Cardinals after the second Buffalo game (though, at the time of the Buffalo-Chicago matchup, Chicago had played three fewer games than Buffalo).
The league counted the All-Americans game in the standings, against Buffalo's wishes, resulting in Buffalo (9-1-2) and Chicago (9-1-1) being tied atop the standings. The league then implemented the first ever tiebreaker: a rule, now considered archaic and removed from league rulebooks, that states that if two teams play multiple times in a season, the last game between the two teams carries more weight. Thus, the Chicago victory actually counted more in the standings, giving Chicago the championship. Buffalo sports fans have been known to refer to this, justly or unjustly, as the "Staley Swindle
Staley Swindle
The 1921 NFL Championship controversy, known among Buffalo sports historians and fans as the Staley Swindle, is a dispute in which the Buffalo All-Americans unintentionally surrendered the 1921 APFA Championship title to the Chicago Staleys...
."
Future Hall of Fame Players
- Guy ChamberlinGuy ChamberlinBerlin Guy "Champ" Chamberlin was a professional American football player and coach in the National Football League . He played at Nebraska Wesleyan University and then at the University of Nebraska, where he was a member of Beta Theta Pi fraternity. He graduated from Nebraska in 1916...
, End - George HalasGeorge HalasGeorge Stanley Halas, Sr. , nicknamed "Papa Bear" and "Mr. Everything", was a player, coach, owner and pioneer in professional American football. He was the iconic longtime leader of the NFL's Chicago Bears...
, End - George TraftonGeorge TraftonGeorge Edward Trafton , was an American football player. He played as a center for the Decatur Staleys of the National Football League from 1920 to 1921 and 1923–1932. He is credited as being the first center to snap the ball with one hand...
, Center
Other Leading Players
- Ed SternamanEdward SternamanEdward Sternaman , better known as Dutch, was an American player, coach, and owner in professional football for the NFL's Chicago Bears....
, Back - Gaylord StinchcombGaylord StinchcombGaylord Roscoe "Pete" Stinchcomb was an American football player. He played quarterback and halfback at Ohio State University where he was selected as an All-American in 1920. He later played professional football for the Chicago Bears , Columbus Tigers , Cleveland Indians , and Louisville...
, Back (rookie from Ohio State)
Departed Players from 1920
- Jimmy Conzelman, Quarterback (went to Rock IslandRock Island IndependentsThe Rock Island Independents were a professional American football team based in Rock Island, Illinois. One of the first professional football teams, they were founded in 1907 as an independent club. They later played in what is now the National Football League from 1920 to 1925. They joined the...
) - Paddy DriscollPaddy DriscollJohn Leo "Paddy" Driscoll was a professional American football quarterback. Driscoll was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1965 and is a member of the NFL 1920s All-Decade Team...
, Back (went to Chicago Cardinals)
Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Location | Result | Score | Record | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday, Oct. 2 | Waukegan Legion | Staley Field Staley Field Staley Field in Decatur, Illinois was the home of the Decatur Staleys club of the American Professional Football Association in 1920, coached and managed by the young George Halas. Modern convention has tended to label this club the "Decatur Staleys".... |
Win | 35-0 | 0-0-0 | |
| Monday, Oct. 10 | Rock Island Independents Rock Island Independents The Rock Island Independents were a professional American football team based in Rock Island, Illinois. One of the first professional football teams, they were founded in 1907 as an independent club. They later played in what is now the National Football League from 1920 to 1925. They joined the... |
Staley Field Staley Field Staley Field in Decatur, Illinois was the home of the Decatur Staleys club of the American Professional Football Association in 1920, coached and managed by the young George Halas. Modern convention has tended to label this club the "Decatur Staleys".... |
Win | 14-10 | 1-0-0 | 5,000 |
| Sunday, Oct. 16 | Rochester Jeffersons Rochester Jeffersons The Rochester Jeffersons from Rochester, New York played in the National Football League from 1920 to 1925.Formed as an amateur outfit by a rag-tag group of Rochester-area teenagers after the turn of the century , the team became known as the Jeffersons in reference to the locale of their playing... |
Cubs Park | Win | 16-13 | 2-0-0 | 8,000 |
| Sunday, Oct. 23 | Dayton Triangles Dayton Triangles The Dayton Triangles were an original franchise of the American Professional Football Association in 1920. The Triangles were based in Dayton, Ohio, and took their nickname from their home field, Triangle Park, which was located at the confluence of the Great Miami and Stillwater Rivers in north... |
Cubs Park | Win | 7-0 | 3-0-0 | 8,000 |
| Sunday, Nov. 6 | Detroit Tigers | Cubs Park | Win | 20-9 | 4-0-0 | 6,000 |
| Sunday, Nov. 13 | Rock Island Independents Rock Island Independents The Rock Island Independents were a professional American football team based in Rock Island, Illinois. One of the first professional football teams, they were founded in 1907 as an independent club. They later played in what is now the National Football League from 1920 to 1925. They joined the... |
Cubs Park | Win | 3-0 | 5-0-0 | 4,000 |
| Sunday, Nov. 20 | Cleveland Tigers | Cubs Park | Win | 22-7 | 6-0-0 | 10,000 |
| Thursday, Nov. 24 | Buffalo All-Americans Buffalo (NFL) Buffalo, New York had a turbulent, early-era National Football League team that operated under three different names and several different owners between the 1910s and 1920s... |
Cubs Park | Loss | 6-7 | 6-1-0 | |
| Sunday, Nov. 27 | Green Bay Packers Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions... |
Cubs Park | Win | 20-0 | 7-1-0 | 7,000 |
| Sunday, Dec. 4 | Buffalo All-Americans Buffalo (NFL) Buffalo, New York had a turbulent, early-era National Football League team that operated under three different names and several different owners between the 1910s and 1920s... |
Cubs Park | Win | 10-7 | 8-1-0 | 12,000 |
| Sunday, Dec. 11 | Canton Bulldogs Canton Bulldogs The Canton Bulldogs were a professional American football team, based in Canton, Ohio. They played in the Ohio League from 1903 to 1906 and 1911 to 1919, and its successor, the National Football League, from 1920 to 1923 and again from 1925 to 1926. The Bulldogs would go on to win the 1917, 1918... |
Cubs Park | Win | 10-0 | 9-1-0 | 3,000 |
| Sunday, Dec. 18 | Chicago Cardinals Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League... |
Cubs Park | Tie | 0-0 | 9-1-1 | 2,000 |
- Game in italics was against a non-league opponent
Standings
W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PCT= Winning PercentageNote: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972
| Team | W | L | T | PCT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago Staleys | 9 | 1 | 1 | .900 |
| Buffalo All-Americans 1921 Buffalo All-Americans season The 1921 Buffalo All-Americans season was their second in the league. The team matched their previous output of 9-1-1, going 9-1-2 against league opponents, and losing the league title to the Chicago Staleys in a disputed tiebreaker.... |
9 | 1 | 2 | .900 |
| Akron Pros 1921 Akron Pros season The 1921 Akron Pros season was their second in the league. The team failed to improve on their previous output of 8-0-3, losing three games. They finished third in the league.-Schedule:-Standings:-References:... |
8 | 3 | 1 | .727 |
| Canton Bulldogs 1921 Canton Bulldogs season The 1921 Canton Bulldogs season was their second in the league. The team improved on their previous output of 7-4-2, losing only two NFL games. They finished fourth in the league.-Schedule:* Games in italics are against non-NFL teams.-Standings:... |
5 | 2 | 3 | .714 |
| Rock Island Independents 1921 Rock Island Independents season The 1921 Rock Island Independents season was their second in the National Football League. The team failed to improve on their previous record against league opponents of 6-2-2, winning only four games. They finished fifth in the league.-Schedule:... |
4 | 2 | 1 | .667 |
| Evansville Crimson Giants 1921 Evansville Crimson Giants season The 1921 Evansville Crimson Giants season was their inaugural in the National Football League. The team finished with a 3-2 record against NFL teams, and finished in sixth place in the standings.,-Schedule:* Games in italics are against non-NFL teams.... |
3 | 2 | 0 | .600 |
| Green Bay Packers 1921 Green Bay Packers season The 1921 Green Bay Packers season was their third season of competition and the first in the American Professional Football Association. The club posted a 3-2-1 record under player/coach Curly Lambeau, earning them seventh place finish.-Schedule:... |
3 | 2 | 1 | .600 |
| Dayton Triangles 1921 Dayton Triangles season The 1921 Dayton Triangles season was their second in the league. The team failed to improve on their previous output of 5-2-2, winning only four games. They finished eighth in the league.-Schedule:-Standings:-References:... |
4 | 4 | 1 | .500 |
| Chicago Cardinals 1921 Chicago Cardinals season The 1921 Chicago Cardinals season was their second in the National Football League. The team failed to improve on their previous output of 6-2-2, winning only three NFL games... |
3 | 3 | 2 | .500 |
| Rochester Jeffersons 1921 Rochester Jeffersons season The 1921 Rochester Jeffersons season was their second in the National Football League. The team failed to improve on their previous record against league teams of 6-3-2, winning only two games. They finished tenth in the league. The Union Quakers were able to arrange a game with Rochester to make... |
2 | 3 | 0 | .400 |
| Cleveland Indians 1921 Cleveland Indians (NFL) season The 1921 Cleveland Indians season was their second in the National Football League. The team improved on their previous record of 2-4-2, winning three games. They finished eleventh in the league.-Schedule:* Game in italics is against a non-NFL team.... |
3 | 5 | 0 | .375 |
| Washington Senators 1921 Washington Senators (NFL) season The 1921 Washington Senators season was their inaugural and only season in the league. The team finished 1-2, finishing in twelfth place in the league.-Schedule:* Games in italics are against non-NFL teams.-Standings:-References:... |
1 | 2 | 0 | .333 |
| Cincinnati Celts 1921 Cincinnati Celts season The 1921 Cincinnati Celts season was their sole season in the National Football League. The team finished 1-3, and tied for thirteenth place in the league.-Schedule:* Games in italics are against non-NFL teams and do not count in the league standings.... |
1 | 3 | 0 | .250 |
| Hammond Pros 1921 Hammond Pros season The 1921 Hammond Pros season was their second in the league. The team failed to improve on their previous output of 2-5, winning only one game. They tied for thirteenth place in the league.-Schedule:*Games in italics are against non-NFL teams.... |
1 | 3 | 1 | .250 |
| Minneapolis Marines 1921 Minneapolis Marines season The 1921 Minneapolis Marines season was their inaugural season in the National Football League. The team finished with a 1-3 record against league opponents, and tied for thirteenth place in the league.-Schedule:... |
1 | 3 | 0 | .250 |
| Detroit Tigers 1921 Detroit Tigers season The Detroit Tigers finished in sixth place in the American League, 27 games behind the Yankees, with a record of 71-82. Despite their sixth place finish, the 1921 Tigers amassed 1,724 hits and a team batting average of .316—the highest team hit total and batting average in American League history... |
1 | 5 | 1 | .167 |
| Columbus Panhandles 1921 Columbus Panhandles season The 1921 Columbus Panhandles season was their second in the newly formed American Professional Football Association . The team failed to improve on their previous output of 2-6-2, winning only one league game... |
1 | 8 | 0 | .111 |
| Tonawanda Kardex 1921 Tonawanda Kardex season The 1921 Tonawanda Kardex season was their sole season in the National Football League, in which they played only game. The team finished 0-1 in league play, and tied for eighteenth place in the league.-Schedule:... |
0 | 1 | 0 | .000 |
| Muncie Flyers 1921 Muncie Flyers season The 1921 Muncie Flyers season was their second and final season in the National Football League. The team failed to improve on their previous record against league opponents of 0-1, losing two games. They tied for eighteenth place in the league... |
0 | 2 | 0 | .000 |
| Louisville Brecks 1921 Louisville Brecks season The 1921 Louisville Brecks season was their inaugural season in the National Football League. The team finished 0-2 against league teams, and tied for eighteenth place in the league.-Schedule:... |
0 | 2 | 0 | .000 |
| New York Brickley Giants 1921 New York Brickley Giants season The 1921 New York Brickley Giants season was their sole season in the American Profession Football Association . The team finished the season with a 0-2 league record, and tied for eighteenth place in the league. Overall the team posted a 5-3 record, when taking non-league games into account... |
0 | 2 | 0 | .000 |